Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Thirty-Three Hours

Ever wonder how much you'd be able to train if you didn't have to go to work every day? I now know my own answer to that question. (Well, sort of ... I worked remotely from Boulder for about 25 hours last week -- so more flexibility than usual but I'm still not a "full-time athlete.")

When I planned out this three week "work part-time while training a lot" trip I envisioned tons of free time -- afternoon naps, social events with the big-name pro triathletes in town, exploring the local restaurants, driving up to the mountains, visiting friends in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs ... but it turns out that training full-time eats up a lot of time! (Especially with the half-time work thrown in.) I've been just as busy as when I'm at home working full-time, perhaps busier... and more tired thanks to the altitude and the heavy training volume.

My first week in Boulder included:

26500 yards of swimming, mostly in a Long-Course Meters pool (so yes, I converted that workout volume to yards for my log b/c I am that obsessive)

300 miles of biking, including a 103-mile Long Ride on Sunday and a 16-mile climb to Ward on Friday

55 miles of running, including a 15-mile long run... 90% on trails or the track

I don't think that the next two weeks will include quite as many miles as I ramp up the intensity a bit more... but it was a fun experiment to see if I could Cram all that Graham.